1950 Chevy Pickup ICON Thriftmaster - When Worlds Collide

Styles run the gamut in the world of customizing. We often see hot rods such as Boyd Coddington's Chezoom or the '54 Plymouth Sniper designed by Chip Foose and built by Troy Trepanier that bear little resemblance to the factory versions of the cars they were created from. At CCT we're all about touting contemporary upgrades to improve function, but in the case of the aforementioned customs, some people might ask why anyone would want to make an old car or truck look modern. Many looked perfect in their day. To each their own, but part of the appeal inherent to a classic is in the vintage aesthetic. Like Coco Chanel said, “Fashion changes, but style endures.”

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When it comes to Chevy Thriftmasters and Advance Design pickups, many would argue they're already styling icons in the world of classic trucks. In the case of ICON owner Jonathan Ward's interpretation of a modern 1950 Chevy pickup, just by looking at the photos alone you are probably thinking it may be subtle, perhaps too subtle. Truth be told, the muted paint doesn't do this unconventional custom justice. We don't have the space to cover all of the details that have gone into this truck, but we'll do our best to get as many as we can.

Jonathan Ward knows his way around trucks. ICON (formerly called TLC) started by doing restored and customized early Toyota Land Cruisers, and later, Willys CJ-series jeeps and early Ford Broncos. Having owned and restored a number of Thriftmasters over the years, Jonathan always loved these trucks' overall appearance, but was never fond of their antiquated performance. That's when he spawned the decision to do a modernized version of this series of pickups with all the trappings of a contemporary truck.

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After finding a '50 Chevy pickup in desperate need of restoration, he began the laundry list of things he'd like to see inculcated into the redesign. Having worked closely with Art Morrison Enterprises, it was a natural choice for him to use one of their chassis as the truck's foundation. Mods include four-wheel Wilwood disc brakes with a power-assisted ABS master cylinder, a 3.89:1-geared Currie 9-inch rear with 31-spline Strange axles, and JRI coilovers. It's all sitting on 18-inch billet Circle Racing wheels and Nitto rubber.

For power Jonathan chose to go with a 315hp 5.3L Chevrolet Performance E-Rod. You might think since this is an emissions-friendly motor that is doesn't get up and go, but the Magnuson supercharger will ensure there's no loss of oomph when you get behind the wheel. It's all smog-legal, to which you may ask yourself, “Why bother? It's an exempt truck.” Jonathan's answer: “Because it's the right thing to do.” It's all mounted up to a 4L65E trans, cooled by a custom Griffin radiator, and flowing out Art Morrison headers into mandrel-bent 3-inch exhaust and MagnaFlow muffers.

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You may notice that the ICON Thriftmaster is noticably absent of typical exterior mods you see on custom trucks, but that was the idea—keep it authentic looking. A Mar-K tailgate sports the company's moniker by way of acid-etched letters and features elbow hinges and release latches on the inside of the gate. When the original body was blown apart for the rebuild, it gave the team at ICON a chance to scan all the body panels into CAD software and have Premier Street Rods produce GM-licensed reproductions for this truck and the production models…but we'll get back to that last part in a bit.

The Glasurit matte paint may seem restrained for a truck of this caliber, but ICON is all about performance, not bling. The underside of the body and inside floor surfaces are polyurea coated for noise/vibration reduction and durability. LED lighting throughout the truck can be found in the reverse lights hidden in the bedrails, turn signals hidden in the rearview mirrors, and license plate lights hidden into the rear veneers. The SLR gas cap embedded in the ash bed wood with nickel-plated stainless strips leads to a 25.6-gallon stainless tank.

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Extensive custom billet work can be seen in the badging, knobs, handles, pedals, and various other pieces throughout the truck. The custom deco-esque dash may look conspicuously bland, but in an effort to avoid a bunch of obtrusive switches and knobs, ICON has hidden the HVAC vents and touchscreen Kenwood head unit that controls the climate system, stereo functions, Internet browsing, navigation, Bluetooth, lighting control, and just about every other function you can think of. An ISIS electrical system powers it all and even serves as a mobile Wi-Fi hot spot.

The gauges are Dakota units modified with some old-school flair. The Glide seat frame was reworked with Tempur-Pedic mattress material and finished in American bison. The door panels, lining of the dense loop-pile berber carpet, and 16-inch custom-designed steering wheel that sits on an ididit collapsible column are also covered in bison. The Dynamat lined-surfaces will ensure you get good sounds out of the full Audison audio system.

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Now back to that part about production models. You're only going to see five of these produced in 2014 ranging in price from $235,000 to $260,000. Options include color choices in matte or gloss finishes, ride height, bed wood, an optional T-56 Tremec six-speed trans, and a normally aspirated or supercharged motor. Demand is expected to be high, so you better act quickly if you want one. Like rewatching Inception to fully understand the movie's plot, you may have to reread this article to absorb everything that's gone into this truck. It can be difficult to improve upon a classic without losing sight of its old-time charm, but we think ICON has done just that without overlooking a single detail. Whether parked at a show or dodging cones on the autocross, this is not a catalog build, and when tailored to each customer's tastes, we're sure no two will be alike.